Eurovision 2015 / Semifinals 1 and 2

About a week ago, I posted my top twelve choices for Eurovision 2015 based on either their studio recordings or their performances in their respective countries’ national finals. The funny thing about watching the songs in the semifinals is that some songs that sounded great in the studio fell flat onstage (often due to the discovery that the singers can’t really sing without studio trickery) and some songs that were just so-so really soared when the singer had the electricity of a competitive live performance coursing through them. There’s also a few other songs that failed to make an impression on me even after several listens but finally began to sink in at the semifinals. Here then, are my choices for each semifinal.

Note: Italy and Austria, my #5 and #6 choices, don’t appear on the list below as they will not appear until the final.